A Passion for Purity
Pierced by the Word by John Piper
Chapter 16 A Passion for Purity Versus Passive Prayer
A Passion for Purity Versus Passive Prayer
Matthew 5:28-29
"I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell."
When you are enticed sexually, do you fight with your mind to say no to the image and then mightily labor to fill your mind with counter-images that kill off the seductive image? "If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Romans 8:13).
Too many people think they have struggled with temptation when they have prayed for deliverance and hoped the desire would go away. That is too passive. Yes, God works in us to will and to do His good pleasure! But the effect is that we "work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12-13). Gouging out your eye may be a metaphor, but it means something very violent. The brain is a "muscle" to be flexed for purity, and in the Christian it is supercharged with the Spirit of Christ.
What this means is that we must not give a sexual image or impulse more than five seconds before we mount a violent counterattack with the mind. I mean that! Five seconds. In the first two seconds we shout, "NO! Get out of my head!" In the next two seconds we cry out: "O God, in the name of Jesus, help me. Save me now. I am Yours."
Good beginning. But then the real battle begins. This is a mind war. The absolute necessity is to get the image and the impulse out of our mind. How? get a Christ-exalting, soul-captivating counter-image into the mind. Fight. Push. Strike. Don't ease up. It must be an image that is to powerful that the other image cannot survive. There are lust-destroying images and thoughts.
For example, have you ever in the first five seconds of temptation demanded of your mind that it look steadfastly at the crucified form of Jesus Christ? Picture this. You have just seen a peek-a-boo blouse inviting further fantasy. You have five seconds. "No! Get out of my mind! God help me!" Now, immediately, demand of your mind--you can do this by the Spirit (Romans 8:13)--demand of your mind that it fix its gaze on Christ on the cross. Use all your fantasizing power to see His lacerated back. thirty-nine lashes left little flesh intact. He heaves with His breath up and down against the rough vertical beam of the cross. Each breath puts splinters into the lacerations. The Lord gasps. From time to time He screams out with intolerable pain. He tries to pull away from the wood and the massive spokes through His wrists rip into the nerve endings and He screams again with agony and pushes up with His feet to give some relief to His wrists. But the bones and nerves in His pierced feet crush against each other with anguish and He screams again. There is no relief. His throat is raw from screaming and thirst. He loses His breath and thinks He is suffocation, and suddenly His body involuntarily gasps for air and all the injuries unite in pain. In torment, He forgets about the crown of two-inch thorns and throws His head back in desperation, only to hit one of the thorns perpendicular against the cross beam and drive it half an inch into His skull. His voice reaches a soprano pitch of pain and sobs break over His pain-wracked body as every cry brings more and more pain.
Now, I am not thinking about the blouse anymore. I am at Calvary. These two images are not compatible. If you will use the muscle of your brain to pursue--violently pursue with the muscle of your mind--images of Christ crucified with the same creative energy that you use to pursue sexual fantasies, you will kill them. but it must start in the first five seconds--and not give up.
So my question is: Do you fight, rather than only praying and waiting and trying to avoid? It is image against image. It is ruthless, vicious mental warfare, not just prayer and waiting. Join me in this bloody warfare to keep my mind and body pure for my Lord and my wife and my church. Jesus suffered beyond imagination to "purify for himself a people for his own possession" (Titus 2:14). Every scream and spasm was to kill my lust--"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24).
Chapter 16 A Passion for Purity Versus Passive Prayer
A Passion for Purity Versus Passive Prayer
Matthew 5:28-29
"I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell."
When you are enticed sexually, do you fight with your mind to say no to the image and then mightily labor to fill your mind with counter-images that kill off the seductive image? "If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Romans 8:13).
Too many people think they have struggled with temptation when they have prayed for deliverance and hoped the desire would go away. That is too passive. Yes, God works in us to will and to do His good pleasure! But the effect is that we "work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12-13). Gouging out your eye may be a metaphor, but it means something very violent. The brain is a "muscle" to be flexed for purity, and in the Christian it is supercharged with the Spirit of Christ.
What this means is that we must not give a sexual image or impulse more than five seconds before we mount a violent counterattack with the mind. I mean that! Five seconds. In the first two seconds we shout, "NO! Get out of my head!" In the next two seconds we cry out: "O God, in the name of Jesus, help me. Save me now. I am Yours."
Good beginning. But then the real battle begins. This is a mind war. The absolute necessity is to get the image and the impulse out of our mind. How? get a Christ-exalting, soul-captivating counter-image into the mind. Fight. Push. Strike. Don't ease up. It must be an image that is to powerful that the other image cannot survive. There are lust-destroying images and thoughts.
For example, have you ever in the first five seconds of temptation demanded of your mind that it look steadfastly at the crucified form of Jesus Christ? Picture this. You have just seen a peek-a-boo blouse inviting further fantasy. You have five seconds. "No! Get out of my mind! God help me!" Now, immediately, demand of your mind--you can do this by the Spirit (Romans 8:13)--demand of your mind that it fix its gaze on Christ on the cross. Use all your fantasizing power to see His lacerated back. thirty-nine lashes left little flesh intact. He heaves with His breath up and down against the rough vertical beam of the cross. Each breath puts splinters into the lacerations. The Lord gasps. From time to time He screams out with intolerable pain. He tries to pull away from the wood and the massive spokes through His wrists rip into the nerve endings and He screams again with agony and pushes up with His feet to give some relief to His wrists. But the bones and nerves in His pierced feet crush against each other with anguish and He screams again. There is no relief. His throat is raw from screaming and thirst. He loses His breath and thinks He is suffocation, and suddenly His body involuntarily gasps for air and all the injuries unite in pain. In torment, He forgets about the crown of two-inch thorns and throws His head back in desperation, only to hit one of the thorns perpendicular against the cross beam and drive it half an inch into His skull. His voice reaches a soprano pitch of pain and sobs break over His pain-wracked body as every cry brings more and more pain.
Now, I am not thinking about the blouse anymore. I am at Calvary. These two images are not compatible. If you will use the muscle of your brain to pursue--violently pursue with the muscle of your mind--images of Christ crucified with the same creative energy that you use to pursue sexual fantasies, you will kill them. but it must start in the first five seconds--and not give up.
So my question is: Do you fight, rather than only praying and waiting and trying to avoid? It is image against image. It is ruthless, vicious mental warfare, not just prayer and waiting. Join me in this bloody warfare to keep my mind and body pure for my Lord and my wife and my church. Jesus suffered beyond imagination to "purify for himself a people for his own possession" (Titus 2:14). Every scream and spasm was to kill my lust--"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24).
Father, have mercy on us in our continual battle with lust.
Oh, how we love the victories You give.
Let us live there more and more.
Grant us the will to say no to every temptation.
Yes, Lord, grant us far more than to say no.
Help us fight.
Give us the will to make war on our impurities.
Show us the infinite and all-satisfying
glory of the crucified Christ.
May Your name be so precious to us
that we absolutely will not defile it.
In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen.
In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen.
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 4:24 PM
4 Comments:
Wow that was so powerful.
Awesome...is that a book Piper wrote?
David,
It is a powerful post, rightly said…
We have other tools to win the ‘fight’ for our minds:
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
‘Renewing’ is an ongoing verb. That is, it is a repeated action…
So how does one ‘renew’ their mind? The post gives a good starting point. However, part of the battle can be won before it starts by being very aggressive in doing other things:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8
In other words - if one is actively already THINKING about Christ and His glory - it is harder for one have the errant thoughts. Stated differently; if ones mind if full of ‘God things’, it is harder for sinful thoughts to gain a presence. Psalm 119 (all 176 verses) talks about meditating on the Word - day and night.
Joshua 1:8, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Again, if your mind is full of ‘God things’, then ‘earthly things’ have a much harder time finding a place…
Finally, the less we know about ‘evil’ the better.
“Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; be babes in evil, but in thinking be mature.” 1 Cor. 14:20
“For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.” Romans 16:19
“Abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thess 5:22
These all tell us to stay away from evil, to be ‘innocent’ of evil. The more we ‘know’ the easier it is to be tempted.
In Christ,
kelli b:
Yes it is a 31 day devotional so the chapters a purposefully short. This chapter was to good to not post!
As you may or may not be able to tell, I am very passionate about purity...in men! But I am honored that I could share this with women and it would draw you closer to Jesus as well!
unchained slave:
Thank you for pointing us to these verses as well. I do believe that this is exactly what John Piper was pointing towards...just couldn't develope in the limited space of the short devotional.
It is so true that the more we focus on Jesus Christ, the less of a foothold the enemy will have, the less ammo to attack with! How can the enemy attack if a target is not presented? He can't!
On another note, continually thinking of what Jesus did on the cross also helps to develope humility!
How can we (if we are thinking of the cross and the love that Christ showed us on it) be self-centered? We can't, because we will realize that we are dependent creaters and He is the Only non-dependent Creator!
I plan to to a new series of posts reflecting on the incommunicable attributes of God (what sets Him apart from us) and then the Doctrines of Grace. All in an effort to build up humility and have a proper perspective of who I am (the created) and who God is (the creator).
Thanks for commenting: Both of you!!!
In Christ,
David
Being married to a man, these struggles are close to heart. I'm glad there are other men in this world desiring for purity and a passion for Christ. I'm thankful for your posts for that reason.
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